button

BUT-uhn/ˈbʌt.n̩/

Pluralbuttons

Verbbuttons, buttoning, buttoned

33 meanings of button

Practice

1
press switchnouncountable
A small part you press with your finger to make a machine or device work.
Press the red button to stop the machine.
She pushed the button for the tenth floor and the elevator doors closed.
UsageYou press or push a button.
Similarswitch, key
2
clothes fastenernouncountable
A small, hard, round thing on clothes that you push through a hole to keep them closed.
She lost a button from her coat on the way to school.
He pushed each button through its hole and smoothed down his shirt.
UsageYou do up buttons, and a button can come off.
Note
3
click on screennouncountable
A small picture or shape on a screen that you tap or click to make something happen.
Tap the blue button to send your message.
Click the button at the bottom of the page to finish signing up.
UsageYou click or tap a button: the Send button.
4
verbtransitive
To close clothes using buttons, or for clothes to close with buttons.
Button your coat before you go outside.
She buttoned her sweater because the classroom was cold.
UsageOften button up your coat or shirt.
Similarfasten
Oppositeunbutton, unfasten, undo
Note
5
pin badgenounUScountable
A small round badge with a pin on the back that you wear on your clothes.
She wore a button with her favorite singer's face on it.
The volunteers handed out buttons that said 'Vote Today.'
UsageYou pin on a button, such as a campaign button; in Britain this is called a badge.
Similarbadge, pin
Note
6
nouncountable
A small round lump or ball of something.
He rolled the dough into small buttons and lined them up on the tray.
A button of glue dried on the edge of the desk.
Similarblob, bead, knob, globule

Less common meanings

7
nuclear warnouncountable
The control a leader would press to start a nuclear war. People almost always say 'the button.'
No leader should ever have to press the button and start a nuclear war.
In the movie, the general begs the president not to push the button.
UsageOften used in have a finger on the button or press the button.
Similartrigger
Note
8
be quietverbcolloquialtransitive
To stop talking and be quiet.
The coach told the players to button it and listen.
Button it back there, please. I can't hear the radio.
UsageSaid as button it or button your lip.
Similarzip, shut
9
young mushroomnouncountable
The round top of a young mushroom before it opens up.
She picked the small white buttons from the mushroom bed and rinsed them.
Each button will spread into a wide cap if it keeps growing.
10
curling targetnouncountable
In curling, the small circle at the exact center of the target rings.
Like the middle of a target that everyone aims for.
Her last stone stopped right on the button.
You score points when your stones finish closer to the button than the other team's.
Similartee, bullseye
Note
11
nouncountable
In poker, a small disk showing which player deals and acts last, or the player who has it.
The button moved to the next player after every hand.
In our home poker game, whoever has the button shuffles the cards.
Note
12
nouncountable
The last joke or strong line at the end of a comedy act or a scene.
Like a big finish at the end of a song.
The comedian saved her best joke for the button of her set.
The sketch needed a better button, so they wrote a new ending.
Similarpunchline
Note
13
rattle tipnouncountable
The small piece at the very tip of a rattlesnake's rattle.
The young snake had only a button at the end of its tail.
The old snake's rattle had broken over the years, and the button was long gone.
Note
14
private partnounslangcountable
A slang name for the clitoris, a small and very sensitive part of a woman's private parts.
She guided his hand to her button.
For many women, even a light touch on the button feels intense.
UsageUsed in sexual talk. Doctors and textbooks say clitoris.
Similarclitoris
15
door latchnouncountable
A small flat piece of wood or metal that turns on a screw to hold a door shut.
Turn the button on the shed door so it stays shut.
Dad screwed a small wooden button onto the cabinet to hold the door closed.
Similarlatch, catch
16
hired killernounslangcountable
In crime slang, a hired killer who works for a criminal gang.
The mob boss sent a button to deal with the witness.
In the old gangster movie, a button waits outside the club for his target.
Similarhitman, assassin, killer, gunman
Note
17
noundated
The smallest amount of care or interest.
As to that I did not care a button, but I had wanted to hear about Betty, and now her name was barely mentioned.
1922, Van Tassel Sutphen, In Jeopardy
18
nounrare
The small round part of a plant that will grow into a flower or leaf.
O queen Emilia, / Fresher than May, sweeter / Than her gold buttons on the boughs,
c. 1613, William Shakespeare, John Fletcher
19
noun
A small white spot on a cat's fur.
20
noun
A small raised bump on a road that helps drivers see a painted line.
21
noun
The soft round tip on the end of a fencing sword called a foil.
22
noun
The very end of a runway at an airport.
23
noun
The bony bump on a deer's head where an antler grows and attaches.
24
noun
A small ball of glass that joins a drinking glass's stem to its bowl or base.
25
noun
On a violin or similar instrument, the small rounded part of the back that meets the neck.
26
noun
The small round knob at the bottom end of a violin that the tailpiece cord hooks onto.
27
noun
The small green star-shaped part on top of an orange where the stem was attached.
28
nounarchaic
A person who pretends to be a buyer or player to trick others.
29
nounslangSouth Africa
A pill of an illegal sleeping drug, taken to get high.
30
noun
A small drop of metal left after a sample is melted and tested.
31
nounarchaicUK
An old measure of length, one twelfth of an inch.
32
noun
The knob on the bow of a violin or similar instrument, turned to tighten or loosen the hair.
33
noundatedSouthern US
One small piece of a garlic bulb.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of button apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–3, 5–7, 9–16

From Middle English boton, from Old French boton, from a word meaning "to push," which came from a Germanic language.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Button comes from Middle English boton, from Old French boton. en.wiktionary.org
The preceding source was a word meaning to push, of Germanic origin. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 4, 8

From Middle English butonen, from Old French boutoner, matching the noun "button."